Broccoli Cheddar Soup

What say we go green for St. Patrick’s Day? I’m servin’ up broccoli cheese soup family style! I found an old recipe my cousin Michael had written out for my mom years ago–try 30 of them or more probably. It’s officially from “the restaurant” as evidenced by the now faded yellow order slip it’s written on.

That was my jump-off point, but Mike’s soup was cream of broccoli. I wanted some cheese in the mix, so I added cheddar in place of the cream and changed up the prep and seasonings a bit. We are family, regardless, so we are genetically predisposed to crank out tasty recipes. 🙂 Give this a try and see what you think!

Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat; add onion, garlic and broccoli. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring as you go. Next, add the chicken stock, bay leaves, nutmeg and cayenne. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves. Move the vegetables over to the other side of the pan to create a small space where you can whisk in the flour. Just add it gradually and whisk, whisk, whisk! Now you can add the milk and cheese. Remember, we’re on simmer now. Stay there, and when everything melts together, remove from the heat. It’s time to grab the stick! YES, I finally bought a stick blender!

If you’d like some pieces of broccoli to remain whole (rather than to puree the entire pot), take out a cup or so of florets as I did. Then, fire away and blend up that broccoli! Return the florets to the soup and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Freshly cracked black pepper is a nice addition, too.

Soup’s on! Are you hungry? Let’s eat! And may the luck of the Irish be with ya today! Sláinte!

Looks delicious, way better then the wine dinner last week. Wine was good as was the conversation but food was big disappointment for us. I just briefly looked over your site so far and some very nice recipes…. The Irish car bomb cake caught my eye

Cream of broccoli soup was my older daughter’s favorite when she was little until she figured out there was veggies in it. He he. I haven’t had this in way too long and yes dear bring on the sharp cheese. Poor thing, I wish I could send the sunshine over your way and make it Spring for you. I guess I will just send positive thoughts instead. You didn’t see me here, right! Lol
Catch up with you soon.
-Gina-